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A minister passing through his church in the middle of the day, decided to see who had come to pray. Just then, a man walked in through the back door. The minister frowned, seeing the man's shirt was shabby, he hadn't shaved in a while and his coat was worn and frayed. The man knelt for a moment and rose and walked away.
***
In the days that followed, each noon came this man, knelt for a mom with a lunch pail in his lap, arose and walked away. The minister's suspicion grew, with robbery a major fear. So he decided to question the man. He asked, "What are you doing here?" The old man said, "I work down the street. Lunch time is half an hour, and lunch time is my prayer time for finding strength and power. I stay only a moment because the factory is far away. Each time, this is the kind of what I say to my beloved Christ.
"I just come again to tell you, Lord, how happy I've been, since we found each other's friendship and you took away my sins. I don't know how much to pray, but I think about you everyday. So Jesus, this is Tom checking in today."
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The minister, feeling foolish, told Tom that was fine. Tom smiled, said thanks and left. Immediately, the minister knelt down and repeated old Tom's prayer.
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Past noon one day, the minister noticed Tom hadn't come for a while. At the factory, he asked about him, learning he was ill. The hospital staff were worried, but he'd given them quite a thrill. The week that Tom was with them brought changes in the ward. His smiles and joy contagious, changed people in the ward.
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The head nurse couldn't understand why Tom was so glad without flowers, calls or cards, nor visitors. The minister listened to the nurse's complains; "No friends showed they cared, he had no where to turn."
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But Tom, looking surprised, voiced out. "No, the nurse is wrong. She wouldn't know, that in here, all the while, everyday at noon, He's here, a dear friend of mine you see, He sits right here, takes my hand, leans ova and says to me,
"I just came again to tell you, Tom, how happy I have been, since we found this friendship and I took away your sins. I always love to hear you pray. I think about you each day, and so Tom, this is Jesus checking in today."
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